Brick-machine



(Model.) q 2 sheets-#sheet 1.

. W. L. GREGG.

Brick Machine.

No. 229,247. Patented lJune 29,1880.

FIGJ.

N.PEI'ES. FHGTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C.

(Model.) 4 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. L. GRBGG.

Brick Machine..`

No. 229,241. E2

FI G.3.

t gjed June 29,1880.

WITNESSES. V AlNvr-:NTOR

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UNITED STATES NA'frnNr A`Fries..

WILLIAM L. GREGG, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BRICK-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,247, dated June 29, 1880.

Application filed March 5,1880. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. GREGG, of the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certainl `claimed consist, first, in the combination, with a mold-box and pressing mechanism, of a feedspout, an agitated feed-hopper, a horizontal feed-box, and an intermittently-reciprocating feed slide or plunger; second, in the combination, with a mold-box and pressing mech'- anism, of a feed-box `having a. longitudinal tenon or lling-piece, by which its transverse section is reduced at and adjacent to its center; third, in the combination, with amoldbox and pressing mechanism, of a feed-box and au adjustable feed-slide for varying the quantity of clay fed to the mold-box; fourth, in the` combination, wi th a mold-box and pressing mechanism, of a feed-boxhaving a side opening, removable door, and guide for the insertion of bricks to be re-pressed; and, fifth, in the combination of a feed-box and a feedslide reciprocating therein, a removable door fitting a side opening in the feed-box, and an outer guide secured to the feed-box adjacent to the side opening, perpendicular to the line of movement of the feed-slide, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view, in elevation, of a brick-machine embodying my improvements;'Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section at the line 1 1 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a vertical transverse section at the line 2 2 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, a plan or top view, and Fig. 5 avertical transverse section through the feed-hopper.

In Fig. 1 the pressure-plate is shown as elevated to admit of the discharge of a finished brick, and in Figs. 2 and 3 the pressure-plate and plunger are depressed and in the position they occupy when the mold-box' is receiving a charge of clay.

horizontal driving-shaft, B, mounted in bear-` ings in the housings, carries upon. one end a driving-pulley, B', to'which power is communicated from a prime mover, and. upon the other a spur-pinion,-b, meshing with a gear, c,

upon one end of acam-shaft, C. A balancewheel, B2, is secured upon the driving-shaft B, to impart greater steadiness and regularity to the workin g of the machine.

An open-topped mold-box, D,is formed upon or secured to the cap-plate a above and in line with the cam-shaft C, and a piston or plunger, Dfl, is fitted accurately within `the mold-box, its upper surface being preferably faced with steel.

A downwardly-projecting bar, d, is secured to each side of the plunger D at the lower portion thereof, which is recessed or reduced in width to admit of the free passage of the arms in the mold-box on the upward movement of the plunger, and long slots are formed in the arms, through which the cam-shaft 0 passes'.

The plunger is elevated for the purpose of i pressing and discharging the brick by a cam,

Uf, secured upon the shaft C, on which cam a roller, d', journaled in the bars d, rests, and the downward movement of the plunger is effected by cams C2,`secured on the shaft G and bearing onr lower rollers, d2, on the bars d. The bars d are prolonged below the rollers d2, and their true rectilineal movement is insured by a transverse lower guide, c2, secured to the housings A, within which guide their lower ends slide freely as the bars are raised and lowered bythe cams O and C', respectively.

The mold-box D communicates, through a feed-opening, e, in one of its sides, with a horizontal feed or forming box, E, formed upon or secured to the cap-plate cof the machine, and having a vertical trunk or feed-spout, E', upon its upper side. .A feed-hopper, 132 having a Haring or funnel-shaped mouth, is suspended between collars or shoulders or in a square frame upon a horizontal shaft, c', mounted IOO with the capacity of endmotion in bearin gs in the feed-spout E', near its top, and is provided with a discharge-spout, c2, which extends downward within the feed-spout E' to or near the opening through which the latter communicates with the feed-box E, the spout c2 being tapered outward from its upper to its lower end, so as to insure the unobstructed discharge into the feed-box of the clay supplied to the hopper. Lateral vibration is imparted to the feed-hopper E2 by the rotation of a pulley, c7, mounted loosely on the shaft c', on which the hopper is hung, and having a f series of ratchet-teeth formed upon one of its sides, working against corresponding teeth on a collar, c3, secured upon the shaft, and thereby moving the shaft endwise in its bearings for a distance equivalent to the depth of a ratchet during the passage of each ratchet of the pulley over a ratchet of the collar, the shaft being correspondingly moved in the opposite direction by a spring', c4, bearin g against a collar on its opposite end. The pulley crl is rotated by a belt from a pulley, c5, upon the driving-shaft.

,The feed or forming boX E is of substantially rectangular form, except in the particular that in order to cause the clay to be fed and distributed from the center toward the 'ends of the mold-box its cross-section is contracted at and on each side of its center by a longitudinal V-shaped tenon or filling piece, c5, extending along its bottom from the feedopening c to a point on the opposite side of the feed-spout E'. As a result of this construction greater perfection in the corners, edges, and angles of the bricks'is attained by reason of the pressure being exerted from the ends toward the center of the brick, instead of from the center to the ends, as has heretofore been the case.

The clay supplied to the feed-boXEis pressed into the mold-box D through the openingcby a reciprocating feed-slide or plunger, F, iittin g neatly within the feed-box and having its bottom recessed conformably with the tenen e6, over which it passes in its traverse. Movement is imparted to the feed-slide by the upper arms of two bell-crank levers, F, secured upon a shaft, f', mounted in bearings in the lower part of the housings A, said levers carrying rollers on the ends of their lower arms, which work in grooves in the cams G2 on the shaft C. The upper arms of the levers F are journaled to short links f, by which they are connected to a shaft, f2, passing through slots in the sides of the feed-box and through the feed-slide F, and the feed-slide may be adjusted relatively to the shaft f2, and pause or lost motion admitted, so as to vary the amount of clay fed to the pressing-plunger, by setscrews f3f4, each of which engages a nut in the feed-slide in line with the 'shaft f2. The traverse of the feed-slide in the direction opposite to the mold-box is limited by set-screws f5, engaging nuts in the top of the feed-box.

For the purpose of admitting of the introduction of bricks to be re-pressed, I provide an opening in the side of the feed-box E, adjacent to the mold-box, closed by adoor, E3, whichis removed d uring re-pressin g, and secured in position during the operation of the machine in making bricks; and a guide, E4, is secured to the feed-box to insure the insertion of the bricks in a direction parallel to the face of the feed-slide, by which they are pushed into the mold-box.

The traverse of the pressing-pluri ger may be varied, so as to form bricks of different thickness, or to impart different degrees of pressure to the clay, by .the insertioniof steel shoes or segments c', of different thicknesses, respect! ively, in a recess formed in that portion of the periphery ofthe pressing-cam C which bears upon the roller` d of the pressing-plunger during the application of pressure to the clay in the mold-box, the thickness of the segment employed in each particular instance being regulated by the nature of the clay, the pressnre required, and the thickness desired for the nished brick.

rlhe pressure imparted to the clay by the plunger D in the formation of the brick is applied against a pressure-plate, F, resting upon the top of the mold-box, and connected by vertical rods f, passing through guides d3 on the sides of the mold-box, with rollers f', fitted to grooves formed in the cams O2 on the shaft C. The curvature and throw of these cam-grooves and their position relative to that of the pressing-cam C are such that during the operation of pressing the brick the plate- F is held firmly in positionn against the top of the mold box, and immediately thereafter the grooves of the cams G2, acting on the rollers f', impart an upward motion to the plate F, coincident with that of the plunger D', and elevate the plate into the position l shown in Fig. 1, to admit of the removal of the finished brick, after which they return it to its former position against the top of the mold-box, in readiness for the next operation.

The throw of the lpressure-cam C' is sufficient to elevate the top of the plunger upon which the compacted brick rests to the level of the top of the mold-box, and the brick is pushed oif the plunger to a table, D2, or to a conVeyer-belt, by the discharging mechanism, (shown in the drawings,) which, being in its general structure and mode of operation substantially similar to that described'and shown in my aforesaid Letters Patent No.192,431, need not be here at length set forth.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, in a brick-machine, of an open topped mold box, a reciprocating plunger working therein, a pressure-plate closing 'the top of the mold-box, a feed-spout, a vibrating feed-hopper, a horizontal feed-box, and an intermittently-reciprocatin g feed-slide or plunger, substantially as set forth.

2. rlhe combination, in a brick-machine, of a mold-box and pressing mechanism, a feed-box IOO IOS

IIO

IIS

communicating with the mold-box through an opening in its side, and a longitudinal tenon or filling piece by which the transverse section of the feed-box is contracted or reduced at and near its center, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, in a brick-machine, of a mold-box and pressing mechanism, afeed-box communicating with the mold-box through an opening in its side, and an adjustable feedslide or plunger by which the quantity of clay supplied from the feed-box to the mold-box may be varied as required, substantially as set forth.

f1. The combination, in a brick-machine, of a 4 mold-box and pressing mechanism, afeed-box communicating with said mold-box through an opening in its side, a feed-slide or plunger reciprocating in the feed-box, and a removable door fitting into a side opening in the feedbox for the insertion of bricks to be re-pressed, substantially as set forth.

I 5. The combination, in abrick-niachine, of a 'feed-box and a feed-slide reciprocating there- 

